Rotor for pump
AssigneeEdwards Limited
InventorsNigel Paul Schofield, Stephen Dowdeswell
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a rotor for a vacuum pump 150 having a roots pumping mechanism, the rotor comprising at least two hollow lobes 160, 162, 164, 166, each lobe having an outer wall 208 which defines a lobe profile, a hollow cavity 210 generally inward of the outer wall, and at least one strengthening rib 226 located in the cavity to resist stress on the lobes generated during rotation.
Claims20
A vacuum pump rotor for use in a vacuum pump having a roots pumping mechanism, the rotor comprising:
- a shaft;
- and
- at least two hollow lobes, each respective hollow lobe comprising:
- a respective outer wall which defines a lobe profile, and
- a respective hollow cavity generally inward of the respective outer wall, wherein:
- each respective hollow lobe comprises respective means for fixing the respective hollow lobe to the shaft,
- the shaft defines at least a portion of an outer surface of the rotor, and
- the at least two hollow lobes and the shaft are shaped so that the outer surface of the rotor includes a generally continuous profile between the at least two hollow lobes and the shaft.
A vacuum pump comprising a rotor, the rotor comprising:
- a shaft;
- and
- at least two hollow lobes, each respective hollow lobe comprising:
- a respective outer wall which defines a lobe profile, and
- a respective hollow cavity generally inward of the respective outer wall, wherein:
- each respective hollow lobe comprises respective means for fixing the respective hollow lobe to the shaft,
- the shaft defines at least a portion of an outer surface of the rotor, and
- the at least two hollow lobes and the shaft are shaped so that the outer surface of the rotor includes a generally continuous profile between the at least two hollow lobes and the shaft.
A method of making a rotor for a vacuum pump, the method comprising:
- forming at least two hollow lobes, wherein each respective hollow lobe comprises a respective outer wall which defines a lobe profile, wherein each respective outer wall defines a respective hollow cavity, wherein each respective hollow lobe comprises respective means for fixing the respective hollow lobe to a rotor shaft;
- and
- attaching the at least two hollow lobes to respective sides of the rotor shaft, wherein the shaft defines at least a portion of an outer surface of the rotor, and wherein the at least two hollow lobes and the shaft are shaped so that the outer surface of the rotor includes a generally continuous profile between the at least two hollow lobes and the shaft.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.